The Non-Anal Technical Writer's Survival Guide

By Steven Gregory

It's a jungle out there...and in the cubicle. If you want to be a technical writer, or already are one, you have to learn how to survive in the field in order to move ahead. This work condenses 20 years of technical writing survival techniques and tips into an easy-to-read guide that will help you press that power switch with confidence. And it doesn't take an anal personality to do it. In fact, if you've got one, it's time to lose it. Survive...and thrive!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Gregory
• Release date: Apr 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9780980088069

Steven Gregory

Steven Gregory is Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies at Columbia University. He is the author of Santería in New York City: A Study in Cultural Resistance and Black Corona: Race and the Politics of Place in an Urban Community. He coedited Race with Roger Sanjek.

Book preview

The Non-Anal Technical Writer's Survival Guide

Keep Your Job, Your Sanity, and Your Sense of Humor

* * * * *

By Steven Gregory

Copyright © 2014 Steven Gregory

ISBN: 978-0-9800880-6-9

Smashwords Edition

* * * * *

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Technical Writing, the Career for Fame and Fortune

Chapter 2 – Pick a Tool, Master a Tool

Chapter 3 – That Technical Writer Has a Great Personality

Chapter 4 – Don't Judge Your Appearance in a Funhouse Mirror

Chapter 5 – A Little Laughter Goes a Long Way

Chapter 6 – Disaster Is Around Every Corner

Chapter 7 – Things You Need to Know That Aren't in Books or Courses

Introduction

Job descriptions for technical writers often include terms like planning and coordinating. This is usually next to words like fast-paced and dynamic. And then there are the phrases like ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and gather information from subject matter experts. Basic requirements for the position can include a four-year degree or certificate, knowledge of software applications and coding languages, and knowledge of multiple operating systems. And that's just to get to the interview! Once on the job, things can be even more daunting. The amount of detail required to do a good job is enough to make anyone at times cranky, obnoxious, and even...anal. Yeah, not good.

It doesn't have to be that way. Just because you have or want the job title of technical writer doesn't mean you have to be lost in the career wilderness that leads to only being able to hang out with people that have serious online debates about which Star Trek series is better, catch typographical errors in movie credits, or can recite the channel lineup for a Tuesday night on your local public television station. You can do your job and be more than that. You can survive. And you can do it while keeping your job, your sanity, and even having some fun along the way.

Chapter 1 – Technical Writing, the Career for Fame and Fortune

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the starting annual salary for a software engineer in 2012 was $78,000. For the same year, the nationwide average annual salary for a technical writer, regardless of experience, was $65,500. And 75% of all technical writers make $83,000 a year or less. That magic six-figure income for writing documentation that most people throw out shortly after unpacking their new printer, computer, or software disc (or download) is reserved for a scant 10% of writers. So let's hope for your sake you didn't choose this career after a stint in medical or law school.

But wait! Technical writers write documents! Paper will last for ages! People will know who I am and sing praises to my name! Pop! That's the sound of your bubble bursting. Unless your company or client is careless, a technical writer's name seldom goes on a document. And if it does happen to be in there, such as on an approval page, no one reads that. The truth of the matter is that no one cares who wrote a technical manual -- unless it's wrong.

The real lowdown on technical writing is that it is, as one of my former bosses put it, a business necessity. And while there are many people out there who realize that technical writing is a valuable asset, technical writers don't write software code and don't build hardware. We may use the hardware or software, we may be part of testing it, and we might even conduct training on it, but we're not developers or engineers. We are writers. The software or hardware isn't dependent on a technical writer to be ready.

It's Not About the Money

Even with an increasing number of technical writers coming out of colleges with technical writing degrees or certificates, a technical writer can make enough to live on fairly decently. Statistically speaking, 1 out of 4 technical writers makes over $83,000 a year, which is nothing to sneeze at, even in places like California and New York where the cost of living can be quite high. And it beats the heck out of other options like: Would you like fries with that?

For most of us, it was a field we gravitated to, and the lure of being a technical writer outweighed most considerations of what we would get paid for doing it. There is money to be made as a technical writer,